I am disapoint

My book finally got here yesterday. Hundreds of pages about fuel injection… for other kinds of car than the donor vehicle for the Thunderbolt Grease Slapper 2. For the make of the donor vehicle it had 3 pages, none of which applied to the year my car was made. So basically I spent $9 and a week of waiting for some interesting light reading and a bunch of stuff I already had elsewhere (on my computer).

I think the local library will be getting a donation.

Something I have been looking at very hard lately is the Holley HydraMat fuel pickup and pre-filter for fuel injection systems. What it amounts to is my car will never run out of gas as long as there is gas still in the tank. Also the pre-filter on the donor vehicle is basically a screen to keep large debris out of the pump, while the latest permutation of the HydraMat is a 30 micron filter that is way better than the 100 micron post-filter on the donor vehicle. So in theory I could install a HydraMat and just plumb from the pump directly to the injectors without additional filtration. I won’t of course, because the pump could break down sending junk down the line to the injectors, but I could if all I was concerned about was the gas in the tank. Now there is the competing parameters of maximum size to allow minimum fuel for racing and minimum cost. The cheapest one is the 8″ X 3″ that for this application would mean I could get maximum fuel endurance on the highway between fill ups. If I was running a tiny tank like a 3 gallon this would make sense. Even the 10 gallon tank could use this, but for anything larger than that it doesn’t make sense. For the larger tanks the mat acts as an extended pickup to allow racing with just enough gas for the course, so it has to be large enough to catch most of the fuel slosh. The largest mat that fits the tank I have selected is the 24″ X 15″, and the cheapest that will work is the 15″ cross. How this is good is I can use a large gas tank/fuel cell for getting there, offload almost all the gas to another container when I get to the race and only have enough gas to complete the run in the car while I race, further reducing the racing weight of the car without the bother and expense of multiple tanks/cells and support systems, or finding a place to put them.

On other parts I just found out the smallest adult-length seat I can buy is gonna be too big for my backside. I think I mentioned a long time ago I did some width measurements to see about buying a streamlined shell for the Stratus and basically the only way I would fit would be removing an arm or two to make my shoulders narrower. Well I also measured my butt width, and to fit the 14.5″ wide seat on my build list I’m going to have to fill ³/₄” on either side of my butt with firm foam of some kind. I think maybe the seat insert kit will fill the gap? It may have to because smaller seats are pricy and will still need the insert kit for things like back support. Although it would be nice to not have to buy the insert kit, the fact that selling the car will become necessary at some time means a removable insert to fit me can be removed for a prospective buyer to see if he or she fits. Otherwise a new seat at $300-500 for a home-built car could be a deal-breaker. I know the seat I had in my last car was too tight for most people but gave me a lot of wiggle room on long trips.

And it’s getting late and I still need to take my walk so I’ll see you later dudes.

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One last day of batching it, and the Feed

Yes, Mrs. the Poet returns from her leaf-peeping expedition mid-day tomorrow, so I can quit with the frozen pizza and Ramen (not on the same days) for dinner. I’m making a pot of beans and rice for tonight so that there will be food available for dinner tomorrow that Mrs. the Poet doesn’t have to cook, and she likes my beans.

Up first more on the cyclist hit from behind riding on the shoulder, apparently by a drunk driver. Bicyclist from Orange struck and killed on Highway 12, alcohol suspected as a factor and ORANGE MAN KILLED IN BICYCLE/AUTO CRASH I don’t think I need to expound on how much I hate drunk drivers, I think drunks that kill need to be chained to the steering wheel of their car as the car gets run through a car shredder.

A cyclist is hit in MD. 82-year-old cyclist critically injured after hit by vehicle Part of the problem is mis-assigned priority between the bike facility and the road. The bike path feels like a limited-access highway for bikes, and riders expect the same kind of accommodations as limited-access highways get, not stopping at every side-street and back alley. That said until such changes are made, stop at the stop signs.

Justice delayed for a cyclist killed by a drunk driver in GA. Two years later, family still seeking justice for cyclist’s death Give him a fair trial and a decent hanging, or in his case put him back behind the wheel of that Mustang for one last ride through the car shredder.

Our Daily Ted part 1. Morning Links: gofundme for HB bike victim, bike lane and salmon cyclist signs in Santa Ana, and more CicLAvia

And Daily Ted part 2. Breaking News: Bike rider dies following wrong way collision in Boyle Heights last week

Another cyclist killed in America’s Paradise. Lahaina Man Succumbs to Injuries in Deadly “eBike” Crash Wrecks like this are one of the reasons why cyclists need to get out of the gutter and take the lane, where they belong as vehicles, and where drivers can see them and not run into them. This kind of wreck is unusual, but not unforeseen.

The DIY DOT is out in force in NYC. Will These Flowers & Cones Keep Brooklyn Cyclists Safe? You know what will absolutely keep cyclists and pedestrians safe in NYC? Mandatory confiscation of any vehicle that hits a cyclist or pedestrian until it can be checked for mechanical defects. Put one mechanic on the job, without any help, and forbid him to work more than a 40 hour week, which will result in a backlog of vehicles needing to be checked meaning people will have to wait for weeks or even months to get their vehicles back, and drivers will stop hitting cyclists and pedestrians, I guarantee it.

And I seriously can’t believe this guy. Man with sleep disorder who killed cyclist ‘shouldn’t have been on road’ and North Shields cyclist ‘hit and killed by sleep apnoea sufferer who had been warned not to drive’ This is kinda like the taxi driver who had an epileptic seizure and killed 4 people in NYC. If you know you have a medical condition that could cause you to no longer be in control of your vehicle without warning, don’t fucking drive! As far as I am concerned this was murder, pure and simple.

Not bicycles in this wreck, but cyclists played a part in the aftermath as one started first aid and another directed traffic around the wreck victim and the motorcycles. Moment passers-by rush to help injured motorcyclist after two ‘speeding’ motorbikes crash in south London Notice how the woman wearing the orange jersey secures her bike and then goes to work controlling the victim’s bleeding?

Some infrastructure news from Jolly Olde. Andrew Gilligan: detractors of cycling programme will be embarrassed once they see benefits Motor vehicles are already slightly in the minority because of economic pressures, so why continue to give them priority when it comes time to hand out the infrastructure funding?

Someone needs to tell The Age that stringing a rope across a trail isn’t a “prank”, it is an act of terrorism against trail users. Boy has neck slashed by rope while riding his bicycle

Notice that the onus is on cyclists being “visible” not on drivers looking out the windshield and not hitting cyclists? How cyclists and drivers can share the road safely Blinking lights and reflectors are of no use if the operator of the murder machine is not looking out to see where said murder machine is going.

You can improve your transportation and urban design vocabulary the way I did by reading thousands of articles on the subject (boooo-rrrring!) or you could play this game a few times. How a Not-Entirely-Polite Card Game Is Changing Urban Planning

Are you buying what you think you’re buying? BUY ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE AND SAFETY! CAMPAGNOLO AGAINST FORGERY IN DEFENSE OF SAFETY How to spot forged Campy products.

And last links, there is a pretty good (power and reliability and cheap) fuel-cell powered e-bike available. We Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Hydrogen Fuel — The H2 Electric Bike Is Proof and Linde AG: Linde’s hydrogen-powered bike shows new way towards electro-mobility (news with additional features) The biggest advantage of this system is the 5-6 minute refuel from empty, the biggest drawback to date is the total lack of hydrogen refueling stations in the US.

And I’m done for today.

Billed @€0.02, Opus the Poet